Choosing Your Wedding Day Music

Deciding on the music for your wedding day can be a lot of fun. But it can also be daunting! Your music choices set the tone for the day, from ceremony prelude to the last dance at your reception and every key moment in between. Here are a few points to consider when making your selections.

Your ceremony music may be dictated, in part, by the venue in which you marry. Many houses of worship have guidelines requiring your music be religious or classic instrumental in nature. Be sure to check with your contact at your ceremony venue to ensure your choices meet any requirements.

Next, you’ll want to consider the style/theme of your event – classic/traditional, modern, eccentric, whimsical, etc. A garden wedding with a boho chic vibe would be the perfect setting to have the bride enter to something like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” strummed on an acoustic guitar, whereas a formal church or hotel ballroom ceremony may lend itself more to the bride walking in to “Trumpet Voluntary” played by a string quartet. But it is your wedding! Take time to do some research and brainstorm with your musicians if you want something a little more unique than the standard wedding repertoire.

After the ceremony, the real fun begins! The pressure is off as you are now Mr. and Mrs., and it’s time to party! For reception music, you’ll want to start with your cocktail hour if you’re having one. Again, the goal of the music is not only entertainment, but to set the mood. Jazz or big band favorites are a great way to go during the cocktail hour. You want the mood to be festive but your guests aren’t ready to cut loose. Consider the same approach for mealtime, especially if you’re having a seated dinner. Guests do not want to have to compete with high energy dance music to have a conversation.

Another fun consideration: do you want to incorporate any meaningful song – do you have an “our song”, is there a song that is a theme of your relationship or is there a song that is special to your families? Including songs that have personal significance is a great way to personalize your wedding and make it more memorable for you and your fiancé. You can do this for your ceremony or reception of course, and this is the best way to choose songs for your special dances such as your first dance and the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

Dinner is over and it is time to dance! Want to have the dance floor packed? Then please do consider your guests! Will Grandma be on the floor throwing down to Sexyback or would that give her a heart attack? You may adore Newgrass, but will your guests get it – and can you dance to it?! You can easily have a wide variety of music played to appeal to most of your guests, and any seasoned band leader or disc jockey can help you plan that out. Hire talented, experienced professionals, whether a band or DJ and trust their expertise and opinions!!!

Finally, we are thrilled to offer another tool in your wedding planning arsenal: our Wedding Music Library. We’ve included these examples on our website to give you a fun way to start brainstorming about your own wedding day music. Have fun with it and happy planning!